Crane Accident in Midtown Injures 10 People Sunday Morning

Crane Accident in Midtown Injures 10 People Sunday Morning

Posted on Jun 1, 2015 6:40pm PDT

Sunday morning was filled with turmoil when a huge air conditioning unit
being carried by a crane broke free and fell 28 stories in Midtown.

When officers responded to the scene at 261 Madison Ave., a high-rise building
between East 38th and East 39th, they noticed the crane’s payload
going to the building’s roof had broken free, according to
CBS New York.

There were ten people injured, including two construction workers, the
others were pedestrians and people inside vehicles who were all struck
by falling debris. The air conditioner fell on the rear of a moving car
causing the driver to crash into a fire hydrant. Thankfully, their injuries
were not life threatening.

The air conditioning unit, weighing about 30,000 pounds hit the building
three times, damaging the building’s exterior and created a large
gaping hole at the top of the building. The impact was so intense that
windows in a neighboring building were shattered.

Large pieces of concrete, steel and glass covered the streets. People were
worried when they heard all the commotion. Many told reporters they thought
it was anything from a building explosion, a freight train derailment
to a terror attack. Isaac Walker, a concierge at the nearby Andaz Hotel
said “I heard a lot of helicopters, there was a police cruiser that
came down here just speeding with the lights on, I heard fire ambulances;
I mean at least five minutes of this.”

“We have no complaints at all about this device,” said NYC
Buildings Department Commissioner Rick Chandler. “We think this
device, in this very preliminary stage, is in good shape.”

It’s not clear why the load fell, but Mayor Bill de Blasio stated
there would be a full investigation into this incident.